New York Organic Action Plan

After four decades of spreading organic food, farming and gardening, NOFA-NY continues to pursue the vision of healthy communities, where everyone has access to fresh, locally grown food and the resources to produce. That goal has led to the creation of the New York Organic Action Plan (NYOAP), using the National Organic Action Plan as a model. Volunteer members of the NOFA-NY Policy Committee set out in 2010 to coordinate a state version. With waves of activity and spells of dormancy, the process has involved hundreds of people through web-based questions and face to face brainstorming sessions in creating the NYOAP.

Since the NOFA-NY 2016 Winter Conference, we have held more than a dozen NYOAP sessions across the state, from Long Island to Buffalo. Typically, the sessions attracted 15 – 20 people each, except in Buffalo, where 60 people came together to discuss the future of New York State’s organic food and farming system during the Friday evening plenary of the World on Your Plate Conference. In addition, Rebekah Williams held a special session with a group of youth involved with the Massachusetts Avenue Project.